When Everything Changes
by skyflower51
Summary: When Sarah Jane and co find a Weevil in Ealing, they call in the experts to help them deal with it- Torchwood. But the plot that begins to unravel is what no-one expected. They'll soon discover the situation is much larger than anyone could have imagined.
1. Phone A Friend

When Everything Changes

Author's note: This is my first ever fanfic, so I hope you enjoy it! But one thing before you start, as I am more of a watcher of Torchwood than the Sarah Jane adventures, I might well have made a few mistakes. Please forgive me if I have. Also, I am sorry if this does not fit in chronologically. This story is set, Torchwood-wise, between _Exit Wounds _and _Children of Earth, _a few months after the Dr Who episode _Journey's End. _I don't know where that comes in the Sarah Jane Advenures.Also, with the obvious exception of places like Ealing, Cardiff, the Hub and Bannerman Road, the place names were made by me and, as far as I know, don't actually exist, on the shows or otherwise. Enjoy! (for those who are wondering about the title, it come from Jack's opening dialogue at the start of almost every episode of Torchwood. '… the 21st century is when everything changes, and you've got to be/ Torchwood is ready.' )

Chapter One- Phone a Friend

'What is it, anyway?' Rani gasped, sprinting down the alleyway after Sarah Jane and the others.

'I don't know yet! We'll have to catch it first and get a proper look at it!' Sarah Jane shouted back, running faster.

Clyde, a little way behind the others, burst out laughing. 'This has to be the first time we've ever chased an alien, instead of it chasing us!'

Luke gave him a funny look. 'Well, there was that time when-'

'Look out!' Sarah Jane skidded to a halt, the children running into her. The creature, up ahead, had turned around and was now advancing. For the first time, it raised its head. The children found it almost impossible to look into its eyes. It was like looking into the darkest corners of the universe.

'What?' Sarah Jane gasped, sounding amazed. 'But they never come away from the Rift!'

'Do you know what it is?' Rani asked, looking anxiously at the beast's fangs and claws.

Sarah Jane did not answer. She pulled out her sonic lipstick and pointed it at the creature in a threatening manner. The creature gave a hiss and dashed off along the alley. Clyde prepared to go on running after it, but Sarah Jane stopped him.

'What? I thought we were chasing it!' Clyde protested.

'We need to get back. That creature was a Weevil. They're highly dangerous. What it's doing here I've no idea,' Sarah Jane said, sounding genuinely frightened.

'But we can deal with it. Can't we, mum?' Luke asked worriedly, as they turned and started walking back towards Bannerman Road.

'_We_ can't,' she replied, pursing her lips. 'It's far too dangerous, and we don't have the experience, the expertise, or the equipment.'

'Experience, expertise, and equipment,' Clyde laughed. 'Try saying that when you're drunk.'

'Well, is there anyone who does?' Rani inquired.

'Yes, there is. I don't usually have any contact with them, but they've been fighting Weevils for as long as they've been on Earth. Nobody really knows where they came from, you see. There's a rift in space and time right through the heart of Cardiff. Occasionally, things drop through it. Technology. People. Creatures.'

'And they came here through this rift?' Luke guessed.

'Exactly. They live in Cardiff's sewers. They're not usually a danger, but sometimes one will turn rogue and leave the sewers. That's when they're a danger. They'll attack viciously. If I'd known it was a Weevil, I'd never have gone after it. I don't know why it's so far from the Rift, but it's a definite threat now it's here. We can't deal with it alone. We need help. '

'Ok, so we just call up _Childline _and say 'ooh, we're being attacked by a snarly monster that sounds like a sort of bug, can you help us?' Clyde rolled his eyes.

'Shut up. She's got someone in mind, haven't you?' Rani asked Sarah Jane.

'I do indeed,' she replied. 'They're based in Cardiff, so it'll take some time for them to get here, but there's no one better at fighting Weevils than them.'

'And who are they?' Rani raised an eyebrow, intrigued.

'Torchwood.'

'Hello, how may I help you?' came a polite Welsh voice from the other end of the line.

'Is that the Torchwood Institute?' Sarah Jane asked.

'Who wants to know?'

'Sarah Jane Smith. You remember me, from the Dalek Invasion?'

Inside the Hub, speaking into the phone, Ianto Jones nodded. 'I suppose you want to speak to Jack?'

'Yes, please. I need his help, and quickly.'

Ianto nodded and shouted across the Hub. 'Jack! Sarah Jane Smith for you!'

'Coming!' Jack vaulted over his office table to grab the phone. He snatched it up and pressed it to his ear.

'Hello, Captain,' Sarah Jane said.

A cheerful American voice replied. 'Hey, haven't heard from you in a long while, Miss Smith!'

'Oh, call me Sarah Jane, Captain,' she said with a smile.

'Yes, ma'am. Whatever you say, ma'am. Obeying orders, ma'am.'

Rolling her eyes, Sarah Jane decided to return to the matter at hand. 'You've got a lot of prior experience with Weevils,haven't you?'

'Sure,' Jack chuckled. 'In fact, it's a bit more than a lot.'

'Then I was wondering if you could help me. We've got a little bit of a problem with a rogue Weevil.'

Jack sounded astonished as he replied. 'A Weevil? In Ealing? What's it doing so far from the Rift?'

'We don't know,' Sarah Jane told him, trying and failing to keep the worry from her voice. 'But it's a danger, don't you think?'

'Oh, hell, yeah. Look, I'll get my team and all the equipment and stuff ready. We'll come as quickly as we can. A Weevil attack in London could be fatal. Don't worry; we'll get it under control.'

'Thank you, Captain. But no guns!' Sarah Jane added warningly.

Laughter came from the other end. 'The Doctor taught you well! OK, if it'll make you rest easier, I'll tell the others stun guns only. How's that?'

'Well, you're the experts, so if you think stun guns are necessary, bring them by all means.'

'Sure. Ianto hates shooting with a real gun anyway, but he's fine with anything non-lethal. As for Gwen, I think she'll agree. I'll go tell them to get ready for a field mission.'

'Thank you, Captain,' Sarah Jane said again, before hanging up.

'Gwen, Ianto!' Jack shouted, putting down the phone and calling across the Hub to his team. 'Get packed! We're going to London!'

'London? Oh, please, no! Anything but England!' Gwen cried in mock horror as she jumped to her feet.

'Afraid so!'

Ianto laughed as he prepared to go and prepare the necessary equipment. 'Any particular reason, Jack?'

'Weevil call. Sarah Jane's found one running wild in Ealing. She needs our help to deal with it. Stun guns only, nothing with bullets. Twenty minutes to get ready, OK?'

With a chorus of 'sure' s and 'will do' s, Gwen and Ianto hurried off. Jack suddenly remembered something. 'Hey, Ianto!'

'Jack?' Ianto turned back.

'Don't forget to pack the coffee.'


	2. Doing It In Style

Chapter Two- Doing it in Style

'So what _is _Torchwood, anyway?' Clyde asked.

In the attic of Sarah Jane's house, the kids sat around randomly while Sarah Jane watched out of the window for Torchwood's arrival. 'I'm not entirely sure, to be honest,' she said with a shrug. 'It's sort of like U.N.I.T, except-'

_I can help you there, _came the cool voice of Mr Smith. _Torchwood is a society, outside the government and beyond the police, dedicated to fighting for the future, on behalf of the human race. Torchwood One, based in London, aimed to use alien technology for the glory of the British Empire, until their destruction. _

'Destruction?' Rani said uneasily, but Mr Smith continued. _Torchwood Three, the branch of Torchwood that Sarah Jane has called to help us, has severed all ties with Torchwood One and is the only remaining Torchwood base in frequent action. They monitor the space/time Rift in Cardiff, from a secret location._

'It's under Roald Dahl Plass. Hardly secret,' Sarah Jane told them.

_They track down alien life on Earth, and defend the human race against extra-terrestrial threats. _Mr Smith sounded ever so slightly annoyed by Sarah Jane's interruption, if it's possible for a computer to sound annoyed. _They claim that the twenty-first century is when everything changes, and Torchwood is ready._

'I'll say they are,' Sarah Jane said. 'We'd never have got in touch with the Doctor on the day the Earth was stolen if not for Torchwood. We owe them a lot, you know.'

'Hey, might that be them?' Rani asked, pointing out of the window to a car fast approaching down the street.

'Yes, that's them! Quickly, all of you,' Sarah Jane gasped, jumping up and racing down the stairs.

'Cool car,' Clyde noted, as the black SUV drew up outside. They lined up to meet it.

There was a pause, then the car doors swung open. A tall man in a long WWII style coat jumped out of the driver's seat and snapped his fingers at the two who followed him out: a man and a woman, both in their mid-twenties. They ran around the back of the SUV, opened the boot, and heaved out a large case which they deposited on the pavement, before standing beside the WWII guy, one on either side of him.

'Whoa. Your friends do things in _style,_' Clyde commented appreciatively.

'Torchwood team reporting for duty, Miss Smith,' the leader said in an American accent, throwing a smart salute.

'Oh, it's good to see you again, Captain,' Sarah Jane smiled.

'Captain Jack Harkness,' he said with the biggest of grins to Luke, Clyde and Rani. 'Allow me to introduce you to the team. Gwen Cooper, second in command, be careful not to get on her bad side 'cause she's a tigress in disguise as a Welshwoman.'

'Oy,' Gwen said warningly, but she was grinning.

'And Ianto Jones, general support and administration. Brilliant with a stun gun, mission reports, coffee, and just about everything else,' Jack continued. Ianto grinned and blushed at the same time.

'And this is _my_ team,' Sarah Jane said, waving her hand at the children.

'Luke, right? Good to meet you in the flesh at last. Nice job helping out with the Daleks,' Jack said, holding out his hand, which Luke shook.

'This is Rani and Clyde,' Sarah Jane continued, gesturing to each of them in turn.

Jack offered his hand out again to each of them.

'So… a Weevil problem, then?' Ianto asked.

'Yes. We found it in Risewood Alley a few hours ago. We thought it wouldn't be safe to take on. That's why we called you,' Sarah Jane explained.

'You did the right thing. Those things are dangerous,' Gwen told her.

'We've got trackers,' Ianto said, pointing to the heavy case they had taken from the back of the SUV. 'We can find it pretty quickly.'

'I've got a more reliable method,' Sarah Jane said, gesturing for them all to come into the house and up into the attic. Once they'd all traipsed inside, she called out, 'Mr Smith, I need you!'

With the usual 'tantaraaaa!' Mr Smith emerged from the wall.

'What's with the fanfare?' Gwen asked quizzically.

'I keep telling him he doesn't need to do it,' Sarah Jane said impatiently.

_Sarah Jane. Are you currently aware that one of our guests defies the laws of time and space? _Mr Smith inquired politely.

'Uh, yeah, that'd be me. Try to ignore it, will you? I never asked to be immortal,' Jack shrugged.

'Immort-?' Luke began to exclaim, but Mr Smith spoke over him. _Very well. I will ignore the fact you are a complete impossibility and ask Sarah Jane why I am required._

'Dammit, he's worse than the Doctor,' Jack muttered. 'For heaven's sake, I _know _I'm totally impossible.'

'In more way than one,' Ianto said drily.

'Quit the jokes,' Jack said, rolling his eyes.

'We need you to try and locate that Weevil. Can you do that?' Sarah Jane asked.

_Of course. Though by the time you arrive there it may well be gone. I can give you an approximate estimation of its location, and from then on the Torchwood trackers will be of more use, _Mr Smith said calmly.

'Excellent. Well, get to it, then!' Sarah Jane made a 'hurry up' motion with her hand, and Mr Smith obediently started to bring up a map of Ealing, with a red blob showing the Weevil's position.

'That looks like it's in the warehouse at the bottom of Raven Street,' Luke said. 'Though it's moving away fast.'

'Ok, team, let's get to it!' Jack said briskly, clapping his hands. He, Ianto and Gwen pulled open the case and brought out trackers and stun guns, (along, for some strange reason, with several mugs, teaspoons and a box of coffee) which they tucked into their pockets (with the exception of the coffee equipment, which they places on top of a stack of books). 'We'll split up; that'll help us cover more ground in case there are more.'

'Can we go?' Luke said excitedly.

'Certainly not. That thing is dangerous,' Sarah Jane snapped.

'Aw, please!' Clyde begged. 'Come one, these guys don't know their way around! We could help!'

Sarah Jane looked like she was battling with her conscience, but she finally relented. 'Oh, all right, then. But I want you with one of us adults at all times, understand?' Three heads nodded eagerly in agreement.

'OK. Clyde, you go with the Captain. Rani, if you'd like to go with Ianto, that leaves Luke and I with you, Gwen.'

Ianto nodded, and Gwen gave Luke a warm smile. Clyde looked eagerly at Jack's stun gun. 'Can I have one?'

'No, you may not!' Sarah Jane hissed at him.

'Only if you need one,' Jack said with a wink. 'Self-defence only, ok?'

'Sure,' Clyde said, looking excited.

'Right. We'd best get going, or we might lose that Weevil before we've even got out the door,' Ianto said.

They all nodded and headed out onto the street. 'We've got our comms working, so keep in touch at all times,' Jack told the others. 'If you get the critter, tell us and we'll try and figure out some way to get it back without anyone seeing it. If we don't find anything in two hours, come back here, and we'll regroup and come up with a new plan.'

'Ok,' they all chorused.

'Jump to it, then,' Jack said with a grin, and they jumped to it, Luke, Gwen and Sarah Jane going left, Ianto and Rani heading right, and Jack and Clyde disappearing into the back alleys like cats on the hunt.


	3. Teaboys And Timelines

Chapter Three- Teaboys and Timelines

'So how long have you been working for Torchwood?' Rani asked Ianto, as they turned the corner into Swan Way.

'Ooh, about two years now. Seems like longer. I worked for Torchwood One for a time, but then-' Ianto seemed to think he had said too much, because he busied himself with the tracker again. Rani, guessing that this was a touchy subject, decided to ask something else. 'So how did you start working for Torchwood Three?'

Ianto swallowed. _Still a touchy subject, _Rani thought.

'Well… there were… reasons,' he replied vaguely. 'I helped Jack catch this pterodactyl, see.'

'A pterodactyl!' Rani laughed.

'Yup. I guess it came through the Rift.' Ianto grinned to himself as he remembered the rather action-packed evening.

'And what exactly do you for the team?'

Ianto laughed. 'Just about everything. Make the coffee, feed the Weevils, feed Myfanwy- that's the pterodactyl,' he explained, seeing Rani's confused expression. 'Clear up after the others, do the filing, type up the mission reports, get them everywhere on time… and I do field missions too,' he added with a grin.

'So… you're sort of like the teaboy?' Rani said, amused.

'You could say that.' Ianto squinted at the tracker. 'This way.'

They turned into a smaller road with fewer houses. The tracker suddenly gave a loud, alarming bleep.

Ianto raised it up to try and see it better. His eyes widened. 'There's two of them!'

'Two?'

'Yeah. Heading this way. Fast.' Ianto pulled his stun gun from his suit pocket. 'If they attack, your safety is more important than mine,' he told Rani firmly.

'Yes, Dad,' Rani said, and they both laughed.

At that moment, a loud snarl rang out at the end of the road, followed quickly by another. Two Weevils rounded the edge of the street and ran at them. Ianto cursed under his breath. One Weevil he could deal with easily, but two? And he had to try and protect Rani at the same time.

As the first one reached him, Ianto jabbed his stun gun into its ribs. It gave a howl and collapsed, twitching slightly. But the second was on him before he could fire a second time. Ripping the gun from his hands, it pinned him down.

'Run, Rani, run!' Ianto bellowed, trying vainly to push it off him. Rani stood frozen with shock and horror as the Weevil brought its hand down hard on Ianto's head. The Weevil followed it up with two more blows, until Ianto lay motionless on the ground. With a satisfied snarl, the Weevil started to drag him away, for some reason completely uninterested in her.

Through the fog clouding his brain, Ianto managed to raise his head and shout out. 'Rani! RUN!' Then everything went black.

Jolting out of her stupor, Rani ran.

'What did you mean, when you said you're immortal?'

Jack gave Clyde a funny look. 'What d'ya think I meant? I can't die.'

'But seriously, though-'

'Seriously. I can't die. It's a physical impossibility.' He grinned. 'So am I. It is completely impossible for me to exist. Fact is, I do, and I will as long as the time vortex is in existence too.'

Clyde's head was whirling already and he'd hardly spent five minutes with Jack. 'So how does that work?'

'It's all down to a friend of mine. Rose, her name was. She manipulated the time vortex itself after I died, to bring me back to life. She was only human, though. She had no real control over all that raw time energy. So she brought be back forever.'

'Wow.' Clyde grinned. 'That's cool!'

Jack sighed. 'Yeah, you might think so. But it's a curse as well as a blessing. I've lived so many lives, fought so many creatures…' His voice grew quiet. 'Loved so many people… and they're all gone. It's something I have to live with: one day, everybody I love is going to die, and I just have to go on.'

Clyde gave him a proper look for the first time. He wasn't an expert or anything, but the Captain's eyes were definitely far, far older than his face. And hidden in those eyes… pain. So much pain and sorrow from the thousands of years he'd been alive. Maybe that was why he joked around so much. Because if he didn't laugh, he'd cry.

'Whoa, whoa, whoa.' Jack peered at his tracker.

'What is it?'

Jack smirked. 'Haha, I think we got the little guy. It's coming this way, and pretty fast, too.' He grabbed his stun gun, and, after a moment's hesitation, gave one to Clyde. 'Be careful with that thing, ok?'

'Sure,' Clyde said, unable to hide his glee.

The Weevil appeared at the end of the alley. It gave a growl as it saw them and retreated a few steps.

'Have you still got the anti-weevil spray?' Jack hissed urgently. Clyde passed it to him.

The Weevil was glaring at them. Jack outstretched the hand that held the stun gun and beckoned. 'Here, Weevil Weevil Weevil,' he crooned, as if talking to a nervous puppy. Clyde stared at him. When Sarah Jane had said that these people were Weevil experts, he'd expected that their tactics would be, well… a little more dramatic, to say the least.

'C'mon, little feller. You come with me. You don't belong here. I'll take you back to Cardiff and you can join all your little friends in the sewers, yeah?' Jack continued softly, edging closer. The Weevil eyes him warily.

'Hey, it's ok. Weevil Weevil Weevil…'

'Are you sure about this?' Clyde said uneasily.

'It's always worth a try,' Jack shrugged.

Without warning, the Weevil charged. Clyde jumped back in alarm but Jack held his ground, firing the anti-weevil spray as soon as it got too close. As it flinched away, Jack jabbed at it with the stun gun and fired. It sank to the ground with a final growl.

'There! Easy as pie. We'd best call the others and tell them that the job's done,' Jack said with satisfaction, dusting off his hands.

'That was wicked!' Clyde said in admiration.

Jack grinned. 'It was a bit, wasn't it?'

A ferocious roar interrupted them. Two more Weevils were facing them from across the alley. 'What the-?' Jack hissed, preparing the spray again, but the creatures turned and melted back into the shadows without attacking.

'There's three,' Jack groaned. 'Maybe more. This is bigger than we thought.'

He glanced at the stunned Weevil as he slipped some hand clamps onto it. 'We'll have to take a risk and leave this one here. We need to find the others. They still think there's only one of them. We have to warn them, before it's too late.'

Leaving the prone figure on the ground, Jack and Clyde ran.

'And then there was the time Owen nearly vaporised Ianto…'

'Vaporised?' Luke laughed.

'Yeah,' Gwen said. 'He'd found this thing called a singularity scalpel and was showing off to try and impress Martha- you remember Martha?' she asked Sarah Jane.

'Of course, she's one of the Doctor's friends. She works for U.N.I.T, doesn't she?'

'Yes, that's right. Anyway, Owen was trying to vaporise a piece of paper, and he missed. He nearly blew Ianto's head off! I don't think Ianto would have minded, if Owen hadn't hit the coffee machine.'

'Oh, no! Not the coffee machine!' Sarah Jane cried with fake horror.

'Unfortunately, yes. We had to go two whole days without Ianto's coffee before he was able to fix it!'

'A fate worse than death!' Luke laughed.

'Oh, it was. Ianto's coffee is to die for,' Gwen chuckled.

The three of them, following the red dot on Gwen's tracker, turned into Rowan Avenue.

Suddenly, Luke's phone started ringing. He stopped and pulled it out of his pocket, and checked the screen. It was Rani. He pressed the green 'answer call' button.

'Luke?' came Rani's voice, sounding panicked. 'Is that you?'

'Who else would it be? Rani, is something wrong?'

Half a mile or so away, Rani was leaning against a wall, panting from her long run. 'Luke, those creatures… it's not just the one of them, there's loads. They… they took Ianto. Knocked him out and dragged him off. What are we going to do?'

'Mum will know what to do. I'll ask her if-'

There was a sudden startled yell. Luke's voice was abruptly cut off. Rani grew instantly worried. 'Luke? Are you OK? Luke?' There was no answer. 'Luke!' she yelled, shaking the phone. 'Luke, what happened?'

Still no reply. On the pavement in Rowan Avenue, Luke's phone lay on the ground, still with Rani's call displayed on the screen.

Rani rang off, feeling even more panicked. She was starting to dial Clyde's number when a message popped up on the screen. _You are out of credit. Emergency service calls only. Please arrange a top-up._

'No!' Rani shrieked at it angrily, but it lay unresponsive in her palm. Frightened and now desperately worried, she pocketed her phone and started to run again. She had to find the others. They'd know what to do.

'Hold on a minute, have you seen Luke? He was right behind us a moment ago,' Sarah Jane said suddenly. Gwen looked around, but there was no sign of the boy. 'Hey, kid, you there?'

When there was no answer, both women started to worry. Retracing their steps, they dashed down the street. Suddenly Gwen saw Luke's phone, lying on the pavement. Wordlessly, she picked it up and held it up so that Sarah Jane could see it, blank shock on her face.

'Something's taken him,' she whispered.


	4. Imprisoned

Chapter Four- Imprisoned

Ianto regained consciousness slowly and painfully, his head ringing and his vision fogged. He blinked a couple of times in an attempt to bring the world back into focus. Eventually the fuzz faded from his eyesight and he was able to look around.

He was lying face down on the floor of a dark room, his hands tied behind him with rope that rubbed uncomfortably against his wrists. To his left, Luke lay unconscious, eyes closed. He, too, had his hands tied. Ianto felt a prickle of unease. Weevils couldn't work rope. He tried to stand up, but not being able to use his hands made it difficult. Finally he managed it and took a proper look at his surroundings. They appeared to be in a warehouse of some sort. Wooden crates lined the walls, excepting the one with the door. There were no windows, except for a small one in the door. Ianto staggered over to the door and peered out. Yes, it was a warehouse, and this looked like a spare storage room. In the main area, which was littered with random wooden crates and metal containers, was packed with Weevils. Ianto's eyes widened as he realised just how many there were- twenty at the very least. This was bad- very bad. One Weevil? No problem. Two Weevils? All in a day's work. But twenty! Even all of them working together couldn't hope to combat twenty of the creatures.

His head spinning, he sat down heavily on a crate. As he did so, something snagged on the ropes binding his hands. Turning around, he felt a spark of hope- a badly placed nail was poking out from the crate behind him. Ianto slid backwards a little, manoeuvring his hands so that the nail was digging into the rope. With a little work, and quite a bit of frustrated muttering, along with several exclamations of 'ow!' as the nail hit his wrists instead of the rope, he finally managed to weaken the rope enough to pull apart the final strands and free his wrists. Rubbing them to ease the itching from their bonds, he stood up and walked over to Luke. The boy didn't stir as Ianto shook him gently. Clearly he had been captured the same way as he had.

As he resumed his seat on the crate, Ianto had an awful feeling of déjà vu. This was awfully like his first field mission with Torchwood Three, when he and Tosh had been captured and locked in a dimly lit cellar. He remembered sitting and waiting for Tosh to wake up, a pile of shoes from the previous victims of their captors, an evil smile, a knife at his throat… he shook himself and forced the memories from his mind. That wouldn't help.

He felt around in his pockets, but someone had emptied them. Stun gun, anti-weevil spray, reserve stocks of coffee, even, he realised with a groan, his stopwatch- all was missing. He felt wrong without his stopwatch. Ianto _always _had his stopwatch.

He heard a low moan from the floor. Luke was finally waking up. Ianto jumped off the crate and knelt down beside him, untying his hands and throwing the rope aside. Luke opened his eyes, blinked just as Ianto had done, before stumbling to his feet with a bleary 'What happened?'

'Your guess is as good as mine,' Ianto sighed, staring out of the window again. He blinked and looked again. Was that really what he had seen? He jumped up and dashed over to the window. No, he hadn't imagined it. There was a man standing among the Weevils. He was dressed in a long grey coat and a black shapeless hat that didn't quite hide his sunken grey eyes and bent, hooked nose like an eagle's beak. And- and this was the amazing part- he was talking to the Weevils. Giving _orders _to them. Ianto couldn't make out the words, but they were definitely orders. For a moment, he wondered if this man was like Owen- someone with the power to control Weevils. But no, that couldn't be possible, could it? Could it?

He had no further time for speculation, as the man left his fan club of Weevils and crossed over to the storage room. Ianto stepped backwards as the man unlocked and opened the door, locking it again behind him. He surveyed his two prisoners with an intense stare. It wasn't just his nose that was eagle-like. The way he looked at them… it was like he was seeing right inside them, with the intensity of an eagle watching its prey. Ianto had the feeling that a fierce bird of prey was looking at him- though maybe more of a vulture than an eagle. This man had neither the nobility nor the majestic power that an eagle can boast. His hungry smile and hunched figure… yup, Ianto thought. Definitely a vulture.

'I see you managed to untie yourselves. Impressive work. You're smarter than you look,' the man said, smirking.

Luke looked offended. 'Actually, I've got the intelligence of over a thousand people inside me, so-'

'Yes, I know. I know a lot about you, Luke Smith.' The man was still smiling. 'I know about you too, Ianto Jones.'

Ianto rolled his eyes. He could see it coming: the big 'ooh, look at me, I'm so clever,' spiel that all villains seemed to do. 'What do you want with us?' he demanded angrily.

The man's smile vanished and was replaced with a sneer. 'Don't pretend. You know what I want.'

'Actually, I honestly can't say I do,' Ianto replied.

The man stared at him, anger glinting in his dangerous grey eyes. 'Liar! You were the one who found it. I saw you. I watched you. You found it in the sewers while Weevil hunting with your friend Jack, as you seem to do for sport,' he spat furiously.

'We don't do it for sport,' Ianto protested. 'We only hunt rogue Weevils that are a threat to the citizens of Cardiff. It's our job.'

The man gave a noncommittal grunt. 'Maybe you do, maybe you don't. But it doesn't change the fact that you found it. The Weevil Horn!'

Ianto's brow furrowed with confusion; then his eyes widened. 'What, that thing? The thing that looked like a cross between a bugle and a metal teapot?'

The man nodded. 'That's it. The Weevil Horn. _MY _Weevil Horn! I blew it; it belongs to me!'

'So _you _were the one who snatched it out of my hands as I was taking it back to the hub!' Ianto exclaimed accusingly.

'Guilty, I'm afraid,' the man said with another sneering smile. 'I thought it might be valuable. But I never guessed exactly how valuable. When I blew it, it gave me instant command over the Weevils! You know they have mild telepathic skills- well, I can now use those skills to communicate with them. They obey my orders. I am King of the Weevils!'

'You remind me so much of Owen,' Ianto muttered.

'But why did you take us?' Luke asked nervously, stepping forward beside Ianto.

'After only a few months, I needed to travel to the other half of the city sewers. I took the Weevil Horn with me, and entrusted it to the care of one of my most faithful Weevils. But as we were walking, it was as if a hole opened in the fabric of the universe. Before we could do anything, the Weevil carrying my horn was sucked into the hole. The hole closed after her and we could see it no more.'

'That was the Rift,' Ianto explained helpfully. 'Sometimes it does that. Negative rift spikes suck those near to them into the Rift.'

'I know that!' the man snapped. 'But luckily for her, she was not transported through time, only through space. And it was only a short distance. She arrived in this very warehouse. I took some of my best Weevils with me to try and find her and the horn. But when she left the horn in here while she went to find food, she came back to find it missing! And it was taken by you, your meddling, pesky mother and your little gang!' He glared at Luke, his eyes full of wrath.

'And if it hadn't been for you meddling kids and your pesky supercomputer I would have got away with it too,' Ianto murmured, unable to resist.

The man didn't seem to appreciate Ianto's adaption of the immortal _Scooby-Doo_ quote. 'Joke all you want, Jones. I'm keeping you here until your cronies turn up. Then I'll make my demands. I'll order my Weevils to kill you both, unless they agree.'

'And what might those demands be?' Ianto asked casually.

'Firstly, that my horn is returned to me. Secondly, that all the Weevils that Torchwood is holding prisoner be set free. If not, you both die,' he snarled.

Ianto rolled his eyes. Seen one mad villain holding you hostage, seen them all.

'But those Weevils are rogue,' Luke protested. 'If they were let loose, they could attack innocent people!'

'Tough.' The man turned to leave, unlocking the door and stepping out. 'It's up to your friends now. I expect your mother will give me back my horn to get you back, Luke. And I doubt your Captain will risk you getting hurt, will he, Ianto?'

Ianto gave a large fake yawn. 'Shut the door,' he said in a bored voice. 'You're letting in a draught.'

The man shot him a final furious glare and stormed out, slamming and locking the door.

'Isn't it a bit dangerous to make him so angry?' Luke inquired.

Ianto shrugged. 'Why do they always do that? Telling you the whole plan? Do they just want someone to boast to about their brilliant genius or something?'

He turned to Luke. 'Well, enough of that. We need to find a way out of here.'


	5. Escape And Attack

Chapter 5 – Escape and Attack

Rani, Gwen, Sarah Jane, Jack and Clyde all rounded three different corners into the same junction at the same moment and crashed right into each other. Picking themselves up from the ground, they all started shouting at once.

'There's more than one of them!' yelled Rani and Jack.

'They took Luke!' shouted Sarah Jane, at the same moment as Rani shouted, 'They took Ianto!'

'They took Ianto?' Jack and Gwen cried in horror.

'They took Luke?' gasped Rani and Clyde.

'What do we do?' both children and Gwen demanded.

'OK, don't panic! We need to make a plan!' Jack and Sarah Jane commanded them at the same time.

Despite the situation, they all looked at each other in amusement.

'We couldn't have done that better if we'd tried,' Jack grinned.

'They took him!' Sarah Jane shook her head as if she couldn't quite believe it. 'I just turned around, and he was gone. Taken, just like that…'

'We need to do something,' Rani said desperately.

'We _will _do something,' Jack assured her.

'But what if we're too late? What if they're already-?' Rani couldn't say it, but the sentence was left hanging in the air, and everyone knew what she had been about to say.

'They are _not _dead. We mustn't think like that. We have to believe that they're alive,' Jack told them all firmly.

'We'll find them,' Gwen added determinedly.

'I'll go and fetch K-9,' Sarah Jane decided. 'We might need him.' She looked apologetically at Jack. 'And I was the one who asked you to only bring non-lethal weapons.'

'It'll be OK,' Jack cracked his knuckles, his eyes narrowed resolutely. 'My tracker says the Weevils are still in that warehouse. If Ianto and Luke are still ali-' He quickly corrected himself. 'Ianto and Luke will probably be there. When you've fetched your dog, we'll go there and see what we can do.'

Gwen saw his eyes glinting dangerously. She shuddered. When Jack's eyes started glinting, it always meant trouble.

'Ianto! Over here!'

Luke had shifted some of the crates on the wall opposite the door. With them out of the way, a second, smaller, door was visible- not as strong looking as the other one, but immovable when Luke tried to open it.

Ianto bent down and examined it. 'Well, this one's not locked, just bolted. Unfortunately, the bolt's on the outside.'

Luke was studying the other end of it. Suddenly he gave a shout of glee. 'Brilliant!'

Ianto stared at him. 'A bolted door is brilliant?'

'No, not the bolt,' Luke said excitedly. 'That's the strongest part of the door. We want the weakest part!' He pointed triumphantly at the hinges.

'The hinges?' Ianto frowned. 'What's so great about them?'

'They're on the inside of the door,' Luke explained. 'And do you see, they're only held in place by these pins that go through them.' He pointed them out. 'If we could get them out, the hinges would come off, and we could escape this way.'

Ianto raised his eyebrows. 'Well, it might take some time, but it's the only plan we've got.' He went over to the crate with the sticking-out nail. He grabbed the nail and wrenched it free with a strong tug. Glancing at the door to make sure they weren't being watched, he took the nail and started hammering with it at the pin on the top hinge.

After about five minutes, he gave a shout of triumph. 'Have you done it?' Luke asked him.

'No, but it moved! It definitely moved! It shouldn't take much longer now,' Ianto replied, going back to work with redoubled efforts. Finally, after what seemed like forever, there was a clattering _clang _as the pin fell to the floor.

Ianto handed Luke the nail and he got to work on the second hinge, while Ianto kept watch at the window. Ten minutes passed, then twenty. The second pin was being unusually stubborn, as if trying to annoy them. Twenty five minutes. Luke was starting to get pins and needles. Twenty seven minutes. Twenty eight. CLANG!

'I did it!' Luke cried ecstatically, leaping up. Ianto cheered and rushed over. Together they hauled the door off its frame and pushed it outwards. To their delight, they found themselves outside the warehouse.

'We need to try and find the others,' Ianto murmured as quietly as he could, in case any Weevils were about. 'But be careful. If those things find us again…'

Luke shuddered. Together they slipped into the deserted streets.

'OK, K-9. Ready?'

'Affirmative, mistress!' the robot dog replied, with a wag of his tail.

'Good dog. Is everyone else ready?' Sarah Jane turned to the others. They all nodded. Jack showed them his tracker and pointed to the screen. 'Here's the warehouse. We'll surround it and see if we can find a way in. The priority is to find Ianto and Luke. We have to stick together. We'll be weaker divided.' He primed his stun gun. 'Any questions?'

Four heads shook, and a robotic tail wagged.

'OK, team. Let's go rescue Smith and Jones,' Jack said, putting away his tracker.

'Don't bother, we're already here,' came a weary voice from behind him.

'Luke!' cried Sarah Jane in delight and relief, running forwards to embrace her son. Ianto smiled at Jack, who gave him a brief but heartfelt hug.

'Well, that saves us a job,' Gwen laughed.

'Afraid not,' Ianto sighed ruefully. 'We found out why they're here. There's this man commanding them. You remember that trumpet-teapot thing we found? That's what they want. It allows him to control them. And he wants us to release all the Weevils we have in the vaults. He was going to keep us hostage as an exchange- us for the horn and the Weevils.'

'Is he insane?' Gwen gasped. 'Those are rogue Weevils!'

'That's what we told him, but he didn't seem too fussed,' Ianto replied grimly. 'And he's got a small army of at least twenty Weevils with him.'

'OK, this calls for a change of plan,' Jack said briskly.

'But what exactly do we do?' Clyde protested. 'We can't take on twenty of the crazy things. We can't give him the horn thing 'cause then he'll want you to release all your Weevils as well. And we can't-'

Jack interrupted. 'There seems to be only one logical thing to do.'

Ianto was only one step behind him. He nodded. 'Destroy the horn.'

Sarah Jane looked horrified. 'But suppose his command over the Weevils lasts only as long as this thing exists. If we destroyed it, they could turn on him!'

'It's his life or half of Cardiff's,' Jack said firmly. 'If we're forced to release those rogue Weevils, they could put hundreds of lives in danger. And if we refuse, he'll set the Weevils on us. And then there'll be twenty Weevils running wild in Ealing.'

Sarah Jane sighed, but nodded. 'I don't like it, Captain. But… I agree it's the only way.'

Jack bit his lip. 'I don't like it either. Weevil attack is a nasty way to go. And I should know.'

'Wait a minute,' Rani said thoughtfully. 'I think… I've got an idea.'

They all looked at her hopefully.

'Which of us is the fastest runner?' she asked.


	6. Secret Weapon

Chapter Six – Secret Weapon

'That has to be the craziest plan I have ever heard in my life,' Clyde said flatly.

'It's not really a plan,' Rani admitted. 'It's a… thing.'

'Your _thing _is totally insane!' Clyde yelled. 'So let me get this straight. We all go the warehouse. Ianto and Luke go _back_ to where they were being held and pretend to be escaping, even though they've already escaped-'

'I don't really like what I've heard of this so far,' Luke chipped in.

'And then they make sure they get noticed so that Mr Squashed-nose sends some Weevils after them-'

'I don't either,' Ianto told him.

'Gwen, Jack and K-9 are waiting to take them out-'

'Affirmative!' K-9 bleeped.

'You know, this actually does make some sense,' Jack said, raising his eyebrows. 'If that works, we'll have far less Weevils to deal with.'

'Then me, Sarah Jane and Rani-'

'Sarah Jane, Rani and I,' Sarah Jane corrected him. 'You always put the other person first.'

'_We_, consisting of me, Sarah Jane and Rani, go into the warehouse and pretend to be agreeing to giving him this-' he held up the horn, '-and while we're talking everyone else sneaks in the back and takes out the Weevils from behind. And then we smash the horn and deal with Mr Weevil-king.'

'I could destroy it with a simple initiation of my nose laser,' K-9 offered.

'That won't be necessary until we've done everything else,' Jack assured him.

'Affirmative, Master.'

'How come he's calling you Master already?' Sarah Jane looked at Jack in amusement. 'He's hardly known you four hours.'

'Any friend of the Doctor is my master or mistress,' K-9 wagged his tail.

'Hello!' Clyde glared angrily at them. 'Is anyone else going to comment on the absolute insanity of this plan?'

'I thought it was quite good, actually,' Rani said, offended.

'I've heard worse,' Jack shrugged. 'When I was with the Doctor, his plan was always to run in, yell a bit at the aliens, buzz around with the sonic screwdriver and hope for the best.'

'Oh, that sounds so familiar!' Sarah Jane laughed.

'Did he do that thing with you, when he'd open the TARDIS doors, say it was England in 1780, and you'd go out and find it was England in 1780 BC?' Jack asked her.

'Oh, yes! All the time! And when you were with him, did he go into somewhere and instantly get excited because it had a little shop?'

'Yeah!' Both former companions burst out laughing.

'Jack,' Ianto sighed with the air of someone who had put up with a lot of this from his boss.

'Yeah?'

'Time and a place.'

'You sound just like the Doctor sometimes, you know that?' Jack asked him, rolling his eyes.

'How do you guys ever save the world when you spend this much time mucking around?' Clyde didn't look impressed.

Rani and Luke stared at him. 'Yeah, 'cause you should know all about wasting time mucking around,' Rani snapped.

'He is right, though. We should be focusing on Rani's plan,' Luke said.

'It's not a plan. It is too suicidal to be called a plan,' Clyde snorted. 'It's a suicide misson.'

'I'd like to see you come up with anything better!' Rani snapped.

Clyde opened his mouth to come up with a retort, realised he didn't have one, and shut it again.

'Exactly,' Rani smirked.

'Look,' Jack sighed. 'I understand it isn't the best plan in the world, but I think it's the only thing we can do that won't result in anyone getting killed.'

'Then it's agreed?' Sarah Jane asked.

'Agreed,' Gwen and Ianto said instantly. Luke nodded, and everyone looked expectantly at Clyde.

'OK,' he growled angrily at last, 'but if any of you get me killed, I am _so _telling my mum.'

'OK, team. Phase One of Operation Owen going into action,' Jack said into his comm.

'Why the hell is it Operation Owen?' Clyde yelped.

'Because Owen was king of the weevils. It's sentimental value to an old friend,' Gwen explained.

Clyde muttered something that was unintelligible but probably rude, and resumed his hiding position behind an old van parked near the warehouse.

'Agents in place,' Ianto's voice buzzed into the communicator in Jack's ear. 'Awaiting commands.'

Jack took a deep breath to try and calm himself down. 'OK, Ianto. You and Luke start pretending to escape. Make some noise, get yourselves noticed, then run like hell. We're here, between these two vans. Don't take any unnecessary risks.'

'We won't.'

'OK. Good luck. On my word…'

He glanced out at Sarah Jane, Rani and Clyde, who were in position, preparing for their part of the mission. Rani gave him a thumbs- up. Jack nodded in reply, before turning to Gwen and K-9. 'OK,' he said, yet again. 'The others are ready. You?'

Gwen held up her stun gun in readiness by way of answer, while adjusting the nozzle on her anti-weevil spray. K-9 nodded his robotic head. 'Affirmative!'

'All right.' Jack pressed his communicator to start transmitting to Ianto. 'OK, Ianto, Luke. Go go GO!'

The moment the words sounded in Ianto's comm, he nodded to Luke. The two of them left the dark room where they had been imprisoned and started sprinting over to the two vans concealing the rest of the team. As they went, Ianto purposefully knocked over a pile of crates. They fell with a crash. The warehouse doors swung open, and the man emerged. His sunken eyes widened. 'STOP THEM!' he screamed at his Weevils. 'They're getting away! Do not let them escape! They are essential to our plans!'

Six or seven Weevils broke away from the main pack and loped after Ianto and Luke, who were just reaching the safety of the vans. Ianto instantly pulled out the spare stun gun and anti-weevil spray that Jack had given him to replace his and ducked behind the van with the others. Only a few seconds later, the first few Weevils galloped between the vans.

Without a second's hesitation, all three Torchwood operatives and K-9 fired. Four Weevils fell stunned to the ground- three hit by bursts of electricity from the stun guns, one transfixed by a bolt of energy from K-9. The remaining three Weevils flinched away from the spray fired at them from Jack, Ianto and Gwen, and the few seconds they stopped was enough for them to be overpowered. Jack spoke into his comm. 'OK! Phase One completed, phase Two commence!'

Sarah Jane, wearing a spare comm the team had lent to her, nodded. 'All right, Captain.'

She, Rani and Clyde ran out from their cover and into the warehouse. Instantly the Weevils started forwards, but the man held up his hands to stop them as he saw what Rani was holding.

'My horn,' he hissed, greed and hunger pouring from the two words. 'Give it to me!'

'Make us,' Clyde snapped defiantly. 'You've lost your hostages.'

'They are not relevant,' he replied with a snarl in his voice. 'I could order my Weevils to attack you if you do not give it to me.'

Meanwhile, Jack, Ianto, Gwen, Luke and K-9 had left the cover of the vans and were sneaking into the warehouse from the broken door into the storage room. Jack nodded to Gwen, who passed him the lock picking device she'd had the foresight to pack. Jack held it in place against the lock and waited with bated breath for it to work.

'Listen,' Rani told the man. 'We're happy to give you this horn. But you have to understand that we can't release the Torchwood Weevils. They're dangerous. People could be killed if they got loose.'

'People!' the man hooted scornfully. 'What do I care about people?'

'You're human, aren't you?' Clyde stared at him like he was insane, which he probably was.

'I don't give two hoots about humans. It was humans who ruined my entire life. They killed my dad. He was murdered by humans. Why should I care about the race that did that? My Weevils have treated me better than any human has since my father died.'

'You are _such_ a saddo,' Clyde scoffed. 'You _seriously _need to get a life, mate.'

At that moment, the door smashed open as the lockpick device finished its work. Jack and the others burst into the room, instantly lunging for the nearest Weevils. The man barked an order to his pack and instantly chaos descended.

Rani tried to get away as one of them charged her, but it had her on the floor and pinned down within seconds. Thrashing wildly, she tried to break its grip, but it was too strong. To her left, she saw Luke and Clyde cornered by four of them, Gwen struggling against two that had grabbed her arms, her gun and spray lying useless on the floor, K-9 firing wildly to her right but being backed into a corner, Sarah Jane trying to escape one that was bearing down on her, Ianto and Jack standing back to back, firing at the creatures, holding them off for now, but it was inevitable that they would eventually be overwhelmed. _There are just too many, _she thought despairingly. _We can't beat them. _

'Put those guns down, boys,' the man commanded, facing Jack and Ianto. 'Or I'll order your friends to be killed, one by one.'

Ianto swore quietly and threw down his weapons. Jack hesitated, but eventually he bent down and placed his stun gun on the floor, his eyes not leaving the Weevils and their commander.

The man smiled. 'Very good. My thanks.' He crossed over to Rani and tried to wrench the horn from her, but she held on doggedly. If she was going to die, she might at least do it with a bit of dignity.

'Don't be a fool, girl,' he snarled, trying again, but she only tightened her grip. The man smiled and took a step back. 'My girl, bravery in a warrior is admirable, but bravery in a prisoner with their life on the line is just plain stupidity. _Give- me- my- horn.'_

Rani closed her eyes and shook her head.

'Very well, then,' the man sighed. He turned to the Weevil pinning her down. 'I didn't want it to come to this, but…' He nodded at the Weevil. 'Kill her.'

'NO!' yelled several voices, and she heard Sarah Jane shouting, 'Give it to him, Rani!' But it was too late; the Weevil's paw was descending, those razor sharp talons heading for her throat-

And then suddenly there was a whooshing noise, like something big was flying past, and the Weevil's weight was suddenly off her. Rani shook her head in amazement and perplexity. What had happened? Had the man called the Weevil off? Had one of the others broken free and saved her? Had it suddenly had an abrupt burst of conscience at the last second?

But as the others shouted out in wonder and she opened her eyes, she saw that none of her guesses were right. The Weevil was hanging six feet in the air, dangling from the claws of a creature she had only ever seen in picture books and films.

'Myfanwy!' Ianto cheered.

It was a pterodactyl. And not just any pterodactyl, Rani knew, it was Torchwood's pterodactyl, the one that Jack and Ianto had captured on one of their first meetings, the meeting that had got Ianto recruited. How on earth- and on every other planet in the galaxy for that matter- had it got here?

'How did she get here?' Jack cried, echoing Rani's confused thoughts.

'Must have followed us,' Ianto shouted happily. 'I always said she was more intelligent than we gave her credit for.'

'Bit like you, really! Always hiding away in the tourist office at first… then showing us all just how brilliant you are with coffee!' Jack laughed, and Ianto gave him a good natured shove as they turned to face the Weevils again, snatching up their weapons.

'Kill the creature! Recapture them!' the man shrieked, but Myfanwy's arrival had turned the tables. The Weevils, stupidly, were mindlessly pursuing Myfanwy, who was far too high up to reach, and had completely forgotten about their prisoners. Weevil after Weevil went down, either to stun guns, K-9's nose laser, or Myfanwy's stabbing beak and sharp talons. To the humans, afterwards, the whole scene was just a blur. None of them could exactly remember what had happened. It was just a mixed-up muddle of snarls, screams, shrieks, Weevil growls and wing beats, the man's yells and useless orders, the zap of stun guns and K-9's laser. Teeth, talons, people, all went past in a haze of light and colour and sound.

And then, almost as suddenly as it had begun, it was all over. The sounds and movement stopped as if someone had flicked a switch and turned them off. The Weevils lay stretched out on the floor, either out cold or dead. The humans were slowly picking themselves up and dusting themselves down, examining themselves for injuries, or helping up their comrades. The horn lay smashed on the ground- it was impossible to tell what had happened to it, but it was useless now, completely broken, that was for sure. The man was lying motionless- alive, but knocked out. Myfanwy perched on a rafter, squawking contentedly. K-9 was trundling over to Sarah Jane, folding away his nose laser. Amazingly, none of them were hurt.

Except Jack.

He lay unmoving on the cold concrete floor, eyes staring up at the ceiling without seeing it.

He was dead.

Ianto let out a cry and raced to his side, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him as if trying to shake life back into his all too suddenly lifeless body. Sarah Jane's hands were clapped to her mouth, and the children could not believe it. Jack? Captain Jack Harkness? No, it couldn't be true, he was far too strong and brave and fearless to be dead.

But there he lay, without moving or speaking, unresponsive on the floor.

'No…' Rani whispered, taking a step forwards.

'Is he…' Luke ventured warily, as if afraid of the answer.

'Dead?' Clyde finished his horror clear in his voice.

'Two minutes,' Ianto said quietly.

'What?' Sarah Jane stared at him in confusion.

'Two minutes, tops. Most it'll take is two minutes. Well, there was that time with the Glove, when he got killed by Death itself, that was half an hour, maybe more, but usually it only takes two minutes,' Ianto said, surprisingly calmly. 'So, that's a minute and thirty seconds to go, and counting.'

'What… what are you on about?' Rani asked, goggling at him, wondering if the sudden loss of his friend had driven him insane.

'He's right. Two minutes is usually the maximum,' Gwen assured them, glancing at her watch.

'Two minutes until _what?' _Clyde yelled.

At that moment, Jack gave a huge, shuddering breath and lurched upwards. Ianto caught him with practised ease. Jack grasped him arms to steady himself, before hauling himself to his feet. He shook his head as if there was water in his eyes he was trying to clear. 'Ow. That really hurt!'

'What?' Rani and Luke squeaked. Clyde hit himself hard on the head. 'I'm such an idiot! He _told _me he was immortal!'

'I told you it'd only take two minutes.' Ianto was grinning. 'In fact, that was one of your quickest ones yet!'

Jack laughed. 'I improve all the time!'

Suddenly there was a shriek from above them. Spinning around, they saw Myfanwy launch herself from the beam she had been perching on and fly straight towards the man, who had regained consciousness and was making a break for it, sprinting towards the door.

'Attagirl! Don't let him get away!' Ianto shouted.

Myfanwy was on him in three beats of her wings. Her claws dug into the back of his long grey coat and hauled him into the air. She flew up, six feet, ten feet, twenty feet…

'She's going to drop him!' Sarah Jane cried with horror.

'No, Myfanwy, don't!' Gwen bellowed, but the pterodactyl kept gaining eight, without either understanding or listening.

'Does anyone have any chocolate?' Ianto yelled suddenly.

Two times now in as many minutes Rani had stared at Ianto Jones, wondering if he had gone crazy. 'I have, but is this really the time?'

'Great, whatever, just give it!' he roared, eyes fixed on the still rising pterodactyl and her struggling prey.

Beginning to seriously question Ianto's sanity, Rani pulled a bar of Cadbury's Bournville chocolate from her pocket and tossed it over to him. He caught it perfectly, ripped off the wrapper and held it above his head, calling out, 'Hey, girl, look! I got your favourite!'

Instantly Myfanwy stopped climbing in the air and started to hover, flapping her wings hard, gaze fixed on the bar of chocolate in Ianto's hand.

'Come and get it! It's great for your serotonin levels! If you have serotonin levels,' he continued coaxingly. He and Jack glanced at each other and winked, clearly at some private joke.

Myfanwy hovered for a few more seconds, undecided, then made up her mind and dived down to earth, the man screaming all the way. She dumped him unceremoniously on the floor and snatched the chocolate bar from Ianto. He burst out laughing and stepped back. 'I knew that would work.'

'What would?' Luke asked.

'It's the secret weapon if you want her to do what you say,' Gwen chuckled. 'Chocolate. Preferably dark.'

The man stood up, rubbing his head. 'OK. It's a fair cop,' he growled, and Clyde stuffed his sleeve into his mouth to keep himself from laughing at the incredibly corny line. 'Sling me back in jail where I belong.'

'Actually, before we do anything else, I believe you and I have some unfinished business,' Ianto said, the laughter vanishing from his voice as he strode over to the man, who trembled at his obvious anger but held his ground.

Ianto looked the man right in the eyes.

'_Where,' _he snarled, his face a mask of fury, _'is my stopwatch?'_


	7. Farewell

Chapter Seven- Farewell

The last few police cars vanished down the end of the road, and the united Torchwood and Bannerman Road teams stood on the pavement outside Sarah Jane's house, watching them disappear.

'Do you think we can trust them to take the Weevils back to Cardiff?' Luke asked.

Jack nodded. 'Torchwood has a lot of contacts in the police. These ones know about Weevils, they'll take them back to the Hub for us. We'll put them in the vaults when we get back.'

'What if there are some that aren't rogue Weevils?' Rani inquired. 'After all, that man was controlling them. Maybe some of them are harmless.'

'There's no such thing as a harmless Weevil,' Gwen said with a shrug. 'But we'll check them when we get back and see if any are fit to be returned to the sewers, if it'll make you happy.'

'What about Myfanwy?' Clyde asked, looking up at the pterodactyl, a distant speck in the evening sky.

'She'll be fine,' Ianto assured him. 'She followed the SUV here, I'm sure she'll be able to follow it back.'

'And what about that man?' Sarah Jane frowned. 'Did you ever find out his name?'

Jack shook his head. 'He had no identification on him. He'll just have to be 'the man' for now.'

'We gave him retcon,' Gwen added. 'It's a sort of selective amnesia pill. He'll remember who he is but nothing about the Weevils.'

'That seems a little harsh,' Rani said, sounding slightly concerned, despite the fact that the man had nearly killed her. 'Doesn't that mean he'll wake up and not have a clue what he's been doing in the last few months?'

'Yes, but there's no alternative,' Ianto sighed. 'If we left his memory intact, he might try all sorts of things. Try to resume command of the Weevils and get ripped to pieces by them. Try to take revenge on us. I don't like it, but it's what has to be done.' He gave a slight smile. 'In fact, I suppose you could say we chose the lesser of two Weevils.'

Jack groaned.

'Lesser of two Weevils, lesser of two evils?' Ianto tried, but everyone just glared at him. He sighed. 'Well, I thought it was quite good.'

'We gathered,' Jack growled, but he winked at Ianto as he said it.

'So… I suppose you're off now,' Sarah Jane said.

'You trying to get rid of us?' Jack grinned.

'No! I just thought, you've got a Rift to monitor, aliens to catch, a planet to defend… we've wasted enough of your time already!'

Jack smiled at her and they shook hands. 'Glad to be of service, Miss Smith. Call us any time.'

'Oh, I will.' she nodded. 'Thank you, Captain. Thank you all.'

Jack's smile widened. 'Ma'am!' he said smartly, standing to intention with his usual salute. Sarah Jane, still smiling, shrugged and saluted back.

Jack brought down his hand and turned to his teammates. 'OK, team. Let's go.'

They heaved the case of equipment back into the boot of the SUV, climbed in and closed the doors. Jack wound down his window. 'Hey, kids. When you leave school and want a job… feel free to call me.'

'Yeah!' they all gasped excitedly.

Jack shot them a final smile, and closed his window. Seconds later, the car was only a black spot at the far end of the road.

'Well.' Sarah Jane turned to Rani and Clyde. 'Thank you for all your help. You'd best get home now, I've already had phone calls from your parents asking where you are.'

'Hold on, they're coming back,' Luke said in confusion.

The SUV had turned around and was now drawing up outside the house again. Ianto sprang out of the back seat. 'Sorry,' he said apologetically, walking up to Sarah Jane. 'But I don't suppose I could just have alook around your attic? I think I left something behind. Something important.'

'Sure,' Sarah Jane opened the door for him. 'What happened? Did you forget your trackers?'

'Worse than that!' Ianto shook his head. 'We forgot the coffee!'

The End

_(Thank you to everyone who has read, and hopefully reviewed my story! In case any of you were wondering about the name of the pterodactyl, Myfanwy, I'll explain. Though I don't think she is ever mentioned by that name in the series, there is an episode of Torchwood Declassified in which one of the actors reveals that the cast and crew jokingly nicknamed the pterodactyl Myfanwy. I couldn't very well go through the whole story just referring to her as 'the pterodactyl' so I decided to take the liberty of making that her official name for the purposes of this fanfic. As she's an entirely fictional character, I doubt she'll mind. _

_Anyway, thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it)_


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